The interactions of fish trypanosome culture forms with 11 purified lectins were compared using the agglutination test in microwell plates. Altogether, ten stocks of ten different freshwater fish species were examined. Three basic types of cell-lectin interactions were observed on the microscopical level. The strong agglutination of all stocks regardless their original host was found in the presence of Con A, PSA, RCA60, and RCA120, which implies the presence of relatively high amounts of sugar residues of D-mannose and D-galactose in the surface of culture forms of these parasites. Weak agglutinations of some stocks were observed in the presence of LCA, PNA, SBA, and WGA lectins, but their low intensity makes them not sufficiently reliable for stock characterization. The lectins UEA I, HPA, and PHA caused no agglutination. In conclusion, in case of unequivocal results no remarkable differences in the interactions of various stocks of trypanosomes culture forms with used lectins were observed. These results imply the high degree of similarity of their main cell surface saccharide structures.

Institute of Parasitology Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences Ceské Budĕjovice